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Sponsored: How to Have the Ultimate Foodie Experience at Lollapalooza

From street fests to gourmet events, summer in Chicago is awash with foodie-friendly events proffering the city’s best bites. To the list of must-attend stomach-pleasers, we humbly submit Lollapalooza, whose festival fare is just as stacked as the A-list musical lineup itself. From chowing down in Chow Town to nibbling elevated eats in the VIP section, here’s a rundown of the four-day fest’s most notable noshes.

Options abound at Chow Town

This year's Chow Town is just as mouth-watering as festivals past. Small surprise, of course, with celeb chef Graham Elliot—most recently garnering buzz for Gideon Sweet, his West Loop venture with Matthias Merges—once again reprising his role as curator. This year’s stacked spread ranges from Leghorn Chicken and Tallboy Taco to Smoke Daddy and Wow Bao; for sweets, satisfy your sugar fix with picks from Windsor Ice Cream Shoppe, Original Rainbow Cone and others. Vegetarian, gluten-free or vegan? No matter: nearly all of the vendors satisfy one of those criteria. Eat on!

Pizza (and more pizza) aplenty

Lollapalooza honors the city’s doughy heritage with ‘za from Windy City staples Lou Malnati’s and Pizano’s Pizza and Pasta—after all, it’s not a true Chicago music fest without some deep dish pie. For a quick-and-easy slice, look to Connie’s, which lets you secure your slice from their Pizza-To-Go tent when you pre-order on the Lolla Mobile App. Going for seconds (or thirds) never sounded easier.

VIP = Very Indulgent Plates

Complement your Chow Town chow-down with the VIP experience, whose Lolla Lounge Café is serving up complimentary nibbles from Publican Quality Meats and Big Star throughout the weekend. Plus, craft beer and cocktails will flow freely at both the North VIP and South VIP sections. The eatery is open 12:30-7:30 each day of the festival, making for a seamless weekend of noshing and moshing (just wait for your food to settle).

The Skinny on Platinum

Go for the gourmand gusto with the fest’s Platinum experience, catered this year by the lauded One Off Hospitality Group. Think: premium eats from Publican Anker (Thurs.), newly opened hotspot Pacific Standard Time (Fri.), Avec (Sat.) and Dove’s Chicago (Sat.). Now, imagine sampling that menu atop a private, elevated viewing platform (in between trips to the private bar), and you've officially hit festival nirvana.